JCAHO Accredited Behavioral Health Organizations Must Be Able to Assess Client Suicide Risk by January 1, 2007

October 2, 2006

JCAHO Accredited Behavioral Health Organizations Must Be Able to Assess Client Suicide Risk by January 1, 2007The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) has announced a new 2007 National Patient Safety Goal (NPSG) that requires accredited behavioral health organizations, psychiatric hospitals, and general hospitals with psychiatric units to identify clients at risk for suicide. According to the new requirement, labeled NPSG 15, JCAHO certified organizations must be able to implement a probabilistic risk assessment program to identify clients at risk for suicide by January 1, 2007. If a client is determined to be at . . .